In danger of being primally de-railed by cider

I've sucessfully resisted draught and bottled beer for some time. I also find it easy to. Say no to most commercial cider -- foul stuff that's sweeter than anyone with adult tastes can abide even if there's not a definite chemical tinge. You know the sort of thing -- pasteurized, filtered, probably flavoured, brewed with an eye to the lowest cost rather than quality, and aimed at the alcopop generation. A few years ago an Irish cider -- Magners -- was launched in the UK with a carpet-bombing advertisement campaign that told people to put ice in it. (Honestly.). I bet no-one in Ireland drinks the muck. We also have a plethora of Swedish ciders and perries that taste like soft drinks.

As for the mass-produced stuff from Hereford or Somerset -- it's no better. Most of it has never even "seen an apple" being made from cheap apple-juice concentrate from Eastern Europe.

You can still get "real cider" from small craft producers but it"s not so easily available.

I so know what you mean. A friend and I decided to brew some cider for x-mas gifts this year. The first batch was made with a champagne yeast that ate all the sugar out of it and left it tasting much like beer (and it looked like beer). While she hated the stuff, I loved it and could drink a pint a day easily (well, to be honest, we needed the fancy bottles we put it in for then next batch - ya that sounds like a good excuse)! Waiting to see how the second batch has turned out - we used an ale yeast with that one and it should leave some sweet in the cider that most people expect. Dangerous stuff to be sure

I'm with you on the dangers of good cider. It's one of the more primal alcohol choices, but it's definitely easy to overindulge. A friend of mine makes a wonderful crabapple cider that is cloudy and tart and delicious but packs a ridiculous kick.

(By the way, for the Americans, what you call "hard cider" is generally just "cider" to much of the world--at least in Canada, the non-alcoholic stuff is called apple juice, whether or not it's filtered.)

“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” --Audre Lorde

There are a couple of cider works that have popped up in Virginia that past few years. Albemarle Ciderworks, Foggy Ridge, and Castle Hill are three whose product I've tasted. all use heirloom apples to make their cider. Albemarle's is mostly very dry and champagne-like, Foggy Ridge is a little sweeter, but still bubbly and Castle Hills makes a still cider, which I didn't care as much for. Unfortunately, I'm 6-8 hours away from them and only get down there once a year and not at all this year. I usually consol myself with Woodchuck Granny Smith because I like the dry ciders best and its the only one I can find at home. All the others are too sweet.

I have brewed up a mead/cider combo with champagne yeast that was 22% alc and tart and OMG nock you on your ass good. Now I dont dare make anymore or I will have to drink it. The Montreal region makes a lot of good ciders and you can get the fresh unfiltered un pasteurized stuff easy. Maybe I will make some plain cider for gifts for next year.

Haha holy crap Warmbear, 22% is hardcore, even for a wine yeast! How long did it take to smooth out? With an alcohol percentage that high, that would definitely improve for years, no problem. I brew a lot of my own cider, mead, and apple wine, but my favorite commercial cider is JK's Scrumpy. I don't really like sweet ciders, and that's about the driest you can get around here.

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